Related Summaries

Not adding skill endorsements to your LinkedIn profile keeps you from leveraging a potentially valuable feature, writes Nathan Tanner. More targeted endorsements will lead to more profile views and help you rank higher in search results.

Not all recruiters will be helpful when it comes to landing a job, so it makes sense to evaluate them to see whether they can actually assist you or not. You may be wasting your time by talking to a recruiter who hasn't taken the time to view your LinkedIn profile, writes Liz Ryan.

Giving during this holiday season could be a good way to get a leg up on a job search, Lindsey Pollak writes. Offer colleagues recommendations on their LinkedIn accounts, congratulate a contact on a recent success or thank someone who has provided encouragement, she suggests. "During this holiday season, build and strengthen your network in the most feel-good way possible: in the spirit of giving," she writes.

You can hide your activity updates on LinkedIn while maintaining visibility with recruiters and networking contacts, Lindsey Pollak writes. Another option for discreetly job hunting is to join new groups, but keep your membership private, she writes.

Spiff up your LinkedIn In profile by doing things such as including popular keywords, posting a new photo and becoming active in more groups, Lindsey Pollak writes. "Think of posting a discussion in a LinkedIn group as the online version of hosting a table at a conference luncheon," Pollak writes.